Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermilab, the United States' biggest Large Hadron Collider research institution. He also writes about science for the public, including his recent "The Large Hadron Collider: The Extraordinary Story of the Higgs Boson and Other Things That Will Blow Your Mind" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014). You can follow him on Facebook. Lincoln contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

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An elegant weapon ... for a more civilized age.

This is the how a lightsaber was introduced to viewers nearly 40 years ago. Trademark weapon of the semi-mystical Jedi, it is said that the glowing blade kept peace for millennia in the Galactic Republic. For those introduced to the weapon in 1977, when the first "Star Wars" movie came out, the characteristic hum of the lightsaber and the epic fight between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi is etched in those viewers' minds

Building a lightsaber

Given the impact the Star Wars franchise has had on society, it's inevitable that a segment of the public would love to make a lightsaber, and even train with it. But what technology could possibly yield the lightsaber? With that desire, came the first attempts to reverse-engineer the device. Reverse engineering, in this context, is thinking about how to do it…not actually building one. However, this research about clumping photons made the rounds a while ago. [How Real-Life AI Rivals 'Star Wars': A Universal Translator?]

If one could explore the device's performance, perhaps a few engineers could turn the lightsaber into next Christmas' hot, new "must-have" gift.

At the risk of crushing the dreams of some readers: Remember: "Star Wars" is science fiction. But what do scientists know that could, in theory, reveal how to build a lightsaber?

More at the link...

« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:59:35 PM by The Seeker »

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Look closely: See clearly: Think deeply; and Choose wisely...Trolls are crunchy and good with ketchup... Seekers Domain

Ah, friend, you are going to have to emigrate to the US, or wait until we get Pegasus One commissioned and zoom over to get you Myself, I prefer Purple

just depends on when the surplus TR3-B's come up for sale

Seeker

I would love to emigrate to the States. Leaving this disgusting place would be the best solution. I would work at Wendy's or something to learn really good business english. Pegasus One hahaha awesome Seeker When i inherit some money i leave germany for sure.No place to raise a child anymore.

TR3b also in purple with Pegasus stickers

The problem with sabers is the power i think - an accu for that has to be tiny.

The problem with sabers is the power i think - an accu for that has to be tiny.

That depends; Tesla was convinced he could power anything directly from the aether; now whether this could be made a reality and used to power a device as small as a light saber is a question we may never see an answer to in the near future

But tales such as the flash gun associated with the Dulce papers does make one ponder...

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Look closely: See clearly: Think deeply; and Choose wisely...Trolls are crunchy and good with ketchup... Seekers Domain

the idea i came up with was to use three plus uv lasers with beam expanders in a cone fashion coming out handle.a small amount of hydrogen gas emitted out center would stay trapped by the ionizing effect repelling the gas inward while also building up charge until it was trapped plasma.only once the laser cone was broken,would the hydrogen plasma escape and short out on subject and also burn.other wise you would need a magnetic trap to keep the plasma out to an exact distance and this may shut down blood flow in hand from iron in blood being basically frozen in place.so if someone can create a laser hollow cone.then theres a chance.you would need glasses to keep from burning your retinas,probably a welding hood would be safer.any light strong enough to slice humans is probably a retina burner.